34 questions of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension can prove to be a huge boost for your eventual score in the CAT exam. With subjects like Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning retaining their difficulty level and unpredictability, VARC comes as a relief for aspirants, in particular, the ones with a decent command on the English language.
1. Emphasis on English throughout
If you are a student studying in a school in India, chances are that you will study English from the moment you enter school to the moment you pass out. Such is the emphasis that Indian schools put on English, partly because of the colonial hangover and partly because it is an important global language. So, almost all aspirants preparing for the CAT exam would be familiar with basic English, while some of them would be fluent in English. This familiarity turns out to be a huge advantage for the aspirants, as they encounter the same concepts all over again while preparing for CAT.
2. Keep consolidating
Aspirants should keep consolidating on their knowledge of English language. Being aware of the basics of the language such as various topics of Grammar, including Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Clauses, Sentence Construction, idioms and phrases, which the aspirants have studied in schools, it is time for them to build on this knowledge and consolidate.
3. Build Vocabulary
VARC becomes easier when you build a strong vocabulary base. The section tests your vocabulary in a lot of ways. The Reading Comprehension, in particular, can be done well only when you know the meaning of words. This, however, is not too difficult to do. The 34 questions of VARC can become easy for you once you have a good command on words and their meanings.
4. Time Management
The trick to extract maximum out of this section is to manage your time well. The reading passages can be time consuming, especially if the theme of the passage is complex or unfamiliar. The aspirants need to develop a good reading speed and understand the thrust of the passages, before decoding the meaning of the words. As the answers are to be found in the passages only, Reading Comprehension can prove to be a big boon for the aspirants and should be attempted completely. The other questions such as sentence completion, sentence correction, critical reasoning and para jumbles can be a cakewalk for aspirants who are clear with the concepts.
5. Focus on Accuracy
Since English could appear to be easy, you might be tempted to answer all questions. But the idea while doing the CAT exam is to attain a high accuracy level and not answer all questions. Your percentile will increase only when you do the questions that you attempt correctly. So, take up questions that you are completely confident of. Sometimes, in English, we end up guessing the answer based on the gut feeling and context, but this could dent your percentile. Be very sure of the questions you take up. Out of the 34 questions, attempt anywhere between 22 to 28 questions with an accuracy level of 80 to 90 percent to get a good percentile in this section.
The questions of VARC can boost your percentile. Capitalize on your familiarity with the concepts of this section to enhance your chances.
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